A pale blue light stretched across the sky as Gu Xu stood in the open yard behind Maki's residence, his breath visible in the cool air.
The ground was damp with dew, and the scent of iron from freshly cleaned weapons lingered faintly.
De Qianfan stood a few paces away already alert and moving. He had started warming up his muscles.
Gu Xu was not.
"Why are you standing like that?" De Qianfan called out, squinting at him. "You look like a sack of rice someone forgot to tie properly."
"I—I'm not!" Gu Xu snapped, instinctively straightening up, though his shoulders still slouched.
De Qianfan grinned. "Good. Then we can start."
Gu Xu swallowed.
Start…?
He didn't even know what start meant.
"Run," De Qianfan said simply, pointing toward a winding dirt path that led beyond the estate and toward the forest.
"How far?" Gu Xu asked.
De Qianfan began jogging already. "Until I say stop."
Gu Xu hesitated for a heartbeat… then ran after him.
At first, it wasn't so bad.
The morning air was cool. The ground was firm. His body, though heavy, still carried him forward.
But within minutes,
His breathing grew uneven.
Within ten of those minutes,
His chest burned.
And within fifteen...
His legs began to wobble like soft clay.
"Slower…!" Gu Xu gasped, stumbling forward. "Wait—wait—!"
De Qianfan didn't stop.
He didn't even turn around.
"Keep up," he said casually. "Or crawl. I don't care which."
Gu Xu gritted his teeth.
His steps grew sloppy. His arms swung awkwardly. His stomach bounced with every stride, throwing off his balance. Twice, he nearly tripped over his own feet.
He was clumsy.
He knew he was clumsy.
But still...
He ran on.
By the time they reached the edge of the forest, Gu Xu couldn't go any further.
He stumbled, tripped over a root, and fell face-first into the dirt.
"Ugh—!"
He lay there, panting, his entire body trembling.
"I can't—! I can't—!"
De Qianfan finally stopped.
He turned, walked back slowly, and looked down at him.
"You're not dead," he said.
Gu Xu glared weakly. "I might be…"
"Then you're doing fine."
That made no sense.
Gu Xu didn't have the strength to argue.
After the run, Gu Xu expected food.
He needed food.
His stomach growled loudly as they returned to Maki's residence.
But when breakfast was served, something strange happened.
Maki placed a generous portion of meat and broth in front of him.
"Eat," he said.
Gu Xu didn't hesitate.
He devoured it.
Warm. Salty. Rich.
It was the kind of food he had always dreamed of eating regularly.
But just as quickly as it came—
It was gone.
Gu Xu looked around.
"Is… is there more?"
"No," Maki said calmly.
"But I'm still hungry!"
"You will be."
Gu Xu blinked.
"What?"
Maki folded his hands. "You will not eat again until tomorrow morning."
Gu Xu stared at him in horror.
"What?!"
De Qianfan laughed from the side.
"Welcome to training."
The first day of fasting felt like torture.
By midday, Gu Xu's stomach twisted painfully.
By afternoon, he felt lightheaded.
By evening, he could barely think.
He sat by the stream near his cottage, clutching his stomach.
"I'm going to die…" he muttered.
But he didn't.
The next morning, he returned.
And ate again.
And then...
The cycle repeated.
Days turned into a pattern.
And the pattern turned into discipline.
Every morning:
Running =longer distances each day
Core exercises =sit-ups, planks, holding positions until his muscles shook
Weight lifting = crude stone weights, uneven and heavy
At first, Gu Xu struggled with everything.
He couldn't lift properly.
He couldn't balance.
He couldn't even do ten proper sit-ups without collapsing.
"Again," De Qianfan would say.
"I can't!"
"Again."
"I said I—"
"Again."
And somehow,
Gu Xu did.
The pain was constant.
But it began to feel… different.
One day, as he lay flat on his back after training, staring up at the sky, he realized something strange.
"I didn't fall as much today…"
De Qianfan snorted. "You still fell."
"But less."
"…Yeah."
Gu Xu smiled faintly.
It was small.
But it was something.
By the end of the first week, something began to shift.
Gu Xu still ran slowly.
But he didn't stumble as much.
His steps were steadier.
His breathing, while still heavy, had rhythm.
His arms moved with more coordination.
And when he lifted weights...
He didn't immediately drop them.
His body, though still large, was beginning to respond.
It wasn't just his body.
Something else was beginning to change as well, his manners.
At Maki's residence, Gu Xu began to observe, the way the servants spoke and the way nobles who visited Maki carried themselves.
The way Maki and his wife acted around each other dignity. No shouting and fights like he had with his father, Gui Xu.
At first, he didn't understand it.
But slowly,
He started copying them.
He straightened his back.
He stopped fidgeting as much.
He learned to wait before speaking.
To bow properly.
To respond with calm instead of panic.
One morning, when a servant handed him water, he said:
"Thank you."
Clearly and steadily.
The servant paused for a moment, slightly surprised.
Then nodded respectfully.
It was a small moment.
But Gu Xu noticed it.
By the second week, the changes became more visible.
His clothes fit slightly better.
His face, though still round, had lost a bit of its puffiness.
His movements were still imperfect but no longer careless.
He began to look less like a neglected child and more like a young noble in training.
Even the way others looked at him began to change.
Whispers still followed him but they were quieter now.
More curious and less mocking.
Through all of this...
Gui Xu noticed nothing.
He was rarely home.
Bull fighting season had begun, and with it came gambling, drinking, shouting, and chaos.
Days would pass without him returning.
And when he did, he was drunk, loud and careless.
Gu Xu learned quickly.
If his father was home, he stayed away.
He trained longer.
He lingered near the stream.
He returned only when the house was quiet again.
Once, he passed by and heard his father laughing with other drunkards.
"He's a useless boy!" Gui Xu's voice rang out. "Let him die in that lions den! Saves me the trouble!"
The others laughed.
Gu Xu kept walking.
This time, he did not cry.
The stream became his refuge.
After training, when his body ached and his stomach growled, he would sit there.
The water flowed gently over stones, cool, steady and unbothered.
He would dip his hands into it.
Watch the ripples and nd think.
Not childish thoughts like before, but clearer ones.
Simpler ones.
"I have to survive."
That was all.
De Qianfan remained as always, bright, talkative and annoying but reliable.
"Faster!" he would shout during runs.
"Don't bend your back like that!"
"Use your legs, not just your arms!"
Sometimes he mocked him and other times he encouraged him.
But he never let him stop.
And gradually...
Gu Xu stopped needing to be told.
At the end of two weeks, they stood in the training yard again.
Gu Xu was breathing hard.
Sweat clung to his skin.
But he was still standing.
De Qianfan crossed his arms.
"…You didn't fall today."
Gu Xu blinked.
"…I didn't."
A pause.
Then—
A small grin spread across De Qianfan's face.
"Not bad."
Gu Xu felt something warm in his chest.
Not pride, no not yet.
But it was something close.
That evening, as Gu Xu walked home under the fading light, his steps were slow—but steady.
His body hurt.
His stomach was empty.
His future was uncertain.
The lions den still awaited him.
Death still loomed.
But he was no longer feeling completely helpless.
He looked down at his hands.
Still soft and clumsy but stronger than before.
"I'm... not the same," he told himself.
And as the sun dipped below the horizon...Gu Xu kept walking forward.